Olive Garden Minestrone Soup is the perfect soup for when you want a light and filling meal. It’s easy to make, packed with fresh veggies, tender pasta, and savory broth. This makes a big batch, so it is perfect to meal prep with this recipe and enjoy the soup throughout the week.
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Olive Garden Minestrone Soup Recipe
Everyone loves minestrone, and this copycat Olive Garden Minestrone Soup recipe is straightforward to make at home – it does not require much work.
Just let everything simmer away, and dinner is served! Plus, this is a great soup to hit the spot at any time of the year. A light soup for summer or a steaming hot bowl on a cold day. It doesn’t hurt that this soup is tasty and very colorful!
The flavors smell so wonderful while it’s cooking. If you have kids, you’ll receive a What smells so good? When they rush in from school.
Why Try This Version of the Olive Garden’s Minestrone Soup?
This hearty soup is perfect if you are following a vegetarian diet. Some online recipes recommend chicken broth, but that isn’t how the Olive Garden does it. This is a vegetarian option at the restaurant. This soup has fresh vegetables, dark red kidney beans, and rich tomato broth. You are going to love this easy soup! So why not whip out your Dutch oven and get started?
Olive Garden Soups
One of my favorite soup and salad spots is the Olive Garden. I am addicted to their salads; they also have the most delicious soups! I order unlimited soup, breadsticks, and salad whenever I eat at the Olive Garden.
I never get tired of their minestrone; it’s my absolute favorite! This homemade version is easy to put together and is a great way to get your family to eat their veggies and enjoy them! Serve your soup with garlic knots or some crusty bread for a complete meal.
What is in Olive Garden Minestrone Soup?
Every time I visit the Olive Garden, I must get the minestrone. It’s full of great flavors and textures, yet it’s light enough that I still have room for the main course.
I love this copycat Olive Garden Minestrone Soup recipe because it’s loaded up with some of my favorite veggies – zucchini, spinach, carrots, green beans – with pasta and beans in a savory tomato broth.
Minestrone Soup Ingredients
Here’s what you need for making this copycat Olive Garden minestrone soup recipe:
Please click on the recipe card to get the full recipe.
- Olive oil
- White onion
- Celery
- Carrots
- Zucchini
- Fresh garlic
- Canned diced tomatoes
- Vegetable stock
- Bay leaf
- Italian seasoning
- Tomato paste
- Canned small white beans (cannellini beans)
- Canned kidney beans
- Fresh or frozen green beans
- Small shell pasta
- Fresh parsley for garnish
Chef’s Note: Cut vegetables uniformly for even cooking
How to Make Olive Garden Minestrone Soup
Here are the simple steps for preparing the soup:
- Heat olive oil in a large stockpot over medium to medium-high heat.
- Add onions, celery, carrots, zucchini, garlic, and salt.
- Cook for 3-5 minutes or until the vegetables turn color and soften.
- Add canned tomatoes, vegetable broth, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, and bay leaf. Stir to combine everything.
- Bring the mixture to a boil and then turn the heat down to low to simmer the soup.
- Add white beans, kidney beans, green beans, zucchini, and pasta.
- Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until the pasta and vegetables are tender.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Garnish with parsley if desired. Or you can sprinkle some Parmesan cheese on top.
Recipe Notes and Tips
Here are a few tips for making this soup:
- Try to cut all the veggies more or less the same size so that they cook at the same rate.
- You can use fresh or frozen green beans, whichever you prefer.
- It’s ok to change the veggies depending on what you have on hand or what’s in season. Other great veggie options are russet potatoes, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, leeks, kale.
- To get rid of all that extra sodium, drain and rinse your canned beans before adding them to the soup.
- This vegan soup is hearty enough to serve as a main course, but if you’d like more protein, add some pieces of cooked Italian sausage or chicken. You can make up a big pot of this tasty soup beforehand.
- You can freeze this soup, but remember that the pasta and vegetables may be a little softer after thawing and reheating.
Please feel free to send me a comment on this soup. I always want to hear from my readers. And, be sure to take a look at more copycat Olive Garden soup recipes.
How long is homemade minestrone good for?
Now that you have made a large minestrone, you have two choices: enjoy it quickly or freeze it. This soup will stay fresh in an airtight container in your refrigerator for up to 4 days. You can freeze this soup if you still have a lot left over.
Can you freeze minestrone soup?
Yes! You can freeze it for up to 3 months. I recommend defrosting it entirely in the fridge before heating it gently in a pot over low to medium-low stovetop. I like to freeze this soup in either vacuum-sealed bags, plastic freezer bags, or freezer-safe containers.
Is minestrone vegetarian?
All minestrone may not be vegetarian. This recipe is vegetarian; we start with vegetable stock, and we only add vegetables to this recipe. So this recipe is vegetarian, vegan, and perfect if you want a low-fat or gluten-free diet.
What can you serve with Olive Garden Minestrone soup?
I recommend some homemade hot bread or salad with this soup. Why not try the Olive Garden Salad Dressing or some Homemade Olive Garden Breadsticks?
Best Minestrone Soup Recipe
If you are anything like me, you will be dipping into this pot of soup before it has even finished cooking. You will be breathing in the enticing aroma and won’t be able to resist.
Add a sprinkling of parmesan and some warm, crusty bread, and you’ll have a quick dinner that everyone will love.
Try these great Olive Garden copycat recipes!
- Shrimp Alfredo
- Gorgonzola Alfredo
- Fried Mozzarella
- Olive Garden Cheese Ravioli
- Crispy Chicken Fritta
- Chicken Gnocchi Soup
- Olive Garden Italian Dressing Recipe
- Shrimp Caprese
- Olive Garden Cheesecake – Pumpkin
- Peaches and Cream Cheesecake
More Soup Recipes
Make garlic parmesan hot wings as an appetizer to enjoy before the soup. The soup also goes well with this shrimp taco recipe.
Check out more copycat favorites and the best restaurant soup recipes.
Olive Garden Minestrone Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup white onion diced
- 1/2 cup celery diced
- 1/2 cup carrots peeled, diced
- 1 zucchini diced
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 14 ounces canned diced tomatoes
- 32 ounces vegetable stock
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 15 ounces canned small white beans drained and rinsed
- 15 ounces canned kidney beans drained and rinsed
- 1 cup frozen green beans You can use fresh
- 1/2 cup small shell shaped pasta
- parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large stockpot over medium heat.
- When oil is hot add onions, celery, carrots, and garlic. Add a pinch of salt to help the vegetables sweat. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until the vegetables turn color and soften.
- Add canned tomatoes, vegetable broth, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, and bay leaf to the pot. Bring to a boil and turn down to simmer.
- Add white beans, kidney beans, green beans, zucchini, and pasta. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until the pasta and vegetables are tender.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- If desired, garnish with parsley.
Video
Notes
- You can use roasted diced tomatoes for a fun flavor.
- Consider using yellow squash instead of zucchini.
- Add more fresh vegetables if desired.
- If you have left over vegetables in your refrigerator consider adding them to this recipe. It’s a great way to use up left overs. (My Grandmother would call this soup “Got to Go Soup.”
Lisa
Fabulous! I added a lb of ground chicken (browned) for more protein and used 1-1/2 cups ditalini pasta instead of shells. Served with parmesan cheese on top. This was a huge hit and perfect comfort food on a chilly day!
Stacy jrnkinsv
Olive gardens minestrone soup has mushy vegetables
You never know who cooks it
It is not brought in
Had 1 hood soup there all yr
We always have to say watch the salt
Al
My whole family loved this soup. I will make a double batch next time.
sagatoto
Thank you, I really liked it.
Michelle J Oie
I have made this copycat recipe many times. It is fabulous. I add a rind of parmesan to the brewing soup to add more of that flavor, I keep rinds from the cheese in the freezer for this precise use. I highly recommend this recipe.
Helen
Delicious recipe. I added a chopped jalapeno and a bit of crushed red pepper and chopped fresh tomatoes that I had on hand.
Milton
Very tasty soup!
Julie
Thank You for all your recipes I’ve made a lot of them at home for my family. Your Minestrone Soup was the first recipe I tried, I was hooked! Just started to track my caloric intake on an app and was wondering if you happen to know what a serving size is? I understand you did give the amount of servings per but it would really help to know the size of the serving .
Thank You
Stephanie Manley
I am sorry I haven’t portioned out the recipe by cups, for me to do it accurately, I need to make the recipe and portion it out by exact serving sizes.
sundaydinnergrandma
Looks like someone else copied a lot (!) of your narrative remarks and descriptions. (link removed)
Stephanie
Writing for the web is complicated, and it tends to mean we mimic what we believe brings folks. This recipe has been on my website since the mid 90s. I see a lot of my recipes slightly modified all over the web.
Nat
Added a little more tomato paste and substituted potatoes for pasta. Delicious! Good way to use up veggies.
Stephanie
Brilliant idea!
Dorothy Brenneis
This makes a large batch of soup. It’s super tasty too!